NEW USE CLASSIFICATION EXPLAINED

This is important, as it enables the Council and residents to work together to regulate the HMO market which is currently almost entirely unregulated.

 

What it means is that landlords will have to apply for planning permission to create a new HMO. The change is likely to be welcomed by residents living in areas such as Headingly in Leeds and Jesmond in Newcastle, as it will enable local people to have a say about the impact on the local area (e.g. on parking or waste) and the Council to ensure that the building is up to scratch and meeting quality standards. At the moment, the situation is largely unrestricted and anyone can cram as many people as they like into a house.

The new C4 use class came into effect on 6th April 2010. Any house which is already an HMO with people in it will be considered to have an “established use” and they won't have to apply retrospectively, although you should watch this space regarding controls being tightened. Any new conversions from that date will have to get planning permission before they are brought into use.

An interesting area to watch will be houses that are being converted at the moment, but which don't have people in them yet. It appears that the legal situation is that it is the act of having people living in the house that makes it an HMO, so vacant houses, even if they have been converted prior to 6th April, will need to get planning permission before they can move people in. Of course, this is significantly more than a formality and some people might get caught out by this.

The intention of the new C4 use class is to prevent or slow down the process of areas becoming dominated by HMOs which can have negative impacts on local communities. It is still unclear how Councils are going to determine applications and balance of impacts will nevertheless prove interesting.